Give up. There’s no point to your work. No one is going to read it anyway. These are all thoughts that cross my mind all the time as I write, and I know they attack everyone at one point, especially all the writers trying to make it out there. But no one should listen to them. No one should give up.

It’s hard for me to admit it, but recognition, especially online nowadays, is not easy to get. People can spend a lot of time working on a project that only one person will see. And that reality sometimes gets to me. I want that recognition. I want people to read my work. I want people to comment on it. But that really isn’t what matters. What really matters is that I do it—my writing, my blog, and anything else—for me. It is my own personal recognition that should be highlighted.

Still, the negativity sometimes gets to me. It eats away. But, the thoughts that the recognition reflects my work in any way are nothing but intrusive thoughts. Because just one person might encompass the entire audience of one work, it doesn’t mean that work is badly written or not worth the time making it. It was always worth it because it matters to the author.

So ultimately the writer is their own worst enemy. They’re the only ones who can stop progress and force them to give up. The thoughts, the negativity, or the lack of recognition are all false. Those don’t stop a person. It’s the person themselves.

This is why I say that no one should listen to those thoughts. It’s not as if anyone is saying them (and even if it is a person or two, they shouldn’t matter). The only thing that a writer must pay attention to are the other thoughts. The ones that tend to be more subtle and quiet. You can do this. You will make it. Keep going.